


KLAUS

by uwulollipop



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Background Relationships, Canon Backstory, Canon Universe, Crack, Crush at First Sight, First Crush, First Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love at First Sight, Other, Past Relationship(s), Pre-Canon, Prequel, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-15 17:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21257207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwulollipop/pseuds/uwulollipop
Summary: Last summer, Jules and their friends did something bad. As a punishment, Jules now has to volunteer at the homeless shelter every weekend. There, they meet a boy. Jules doesn't know why and how, but this boy makes them feel... different. What is going on?With time, they get closer, and Jules realizes something. Are these feelings... romantic?The boy, Klaus, definitely has some things going on. Jules isn't very fond of his kind either. But still, Jules can't help but think about him...





	1. Chapter 1

‘Mom, do we really -‘  
‘Stop asking, you know the answer. Let’s go.’  
Reluctantly, I grab the boxes from the counter and load them in the trunk. I am aware that we are doing good work here, but I still didn’t ask for this. I just want to go.

A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I got drunk and decided to have some fun and disturb the town. Sean, my friend, reminded us that there was an encampment with homeless people along the west side of the lake, close to the quay. I remember back in the day, when my mom and I used to take walks around that area. Stupid strays messed the whole place up.  
So, I agreed. Actually, I even suggested we go there and disturb them. Sean got his motorcycle and Victoria and I found baseball bats in her garage. Tyler is pretty violent himself; he didn’t need anything to help tear the place up.  
I don’t remember much after that. My dad had to pick me up from the police station the morning after and didn’t say a word to me on the way home.  
None of the strays decided to press charges. I’m sure they were just too scared, as they should be. My parents didn’t leave it at that though. Not that I expected them to, they never go easy on me.  
They gave me house arrest. I was and still am not allowed to talk to any of my friends, not even the ones who hadn’t enjoyed that night with me. After school my dad picks me up, just to make sure I don’t. And now…

They’re having me ‘give back to the homeless’.

I’m supposed to do this ‘charity’-shit every saturday and sunday, for the next four months. I don’t know what kind of drugs my parents are on, but this is total bullshit.

‘Can I get out now?’  
‘Sure,’ my mom says. I’m about to open the car door, but apparently, she wasn’t finished; ‘if you want another month added to your sentence.’  
‘Oh, so it’s a sentence now? Great, mom, maybe you should become a police officer and give me a real punishment.’ I see her look at me through the rearview mirror, raising her eyebrow. Eventually she averts her gaze to pay attention to traffic again.  
After a while, the silence breaks.  
‘I want you to start doing the rounds today.’  
My heart sinks to my stomach. Last weekend all I had to do was bring the boxes. I don’t want to have to actually do something that involves the strays!  
‘I know you thought you could just sit this entire thing out, but eventually you’re going to have to do something that’ll actually make up for what you did.’  
Silence.  
‘I mean it.’

We get to Sasha, the one of the volunteer ladies’ house. The doors of her van are open, so we decide to unload the boxes from our trunk and but them in hers right away.  
I hear her come down the path from her house.  
‘Hiya, Marie!’  
‘Hey, Sasha, how are you doing?’  
I’m pretty sure Sasha can’t see me; I’m hidden in between the boxes in the back of her van.  
After a bit of shuffling I think she might’ve seen me, as I hear her speak; ‘Hi, Jules. Good to see you again.’  
I raise my head and smirk awkwardly. Sasha waves at me, I wave back.  
‘Actually, Sasha, Jules would love to join you on your rounds today.’ Mom sounds way too excited. It should be clear to Sasha that I actually would not love to join her on her rounds today. She seems nice, maybe she’ll see that I don’t actually deserve to be here-  
‘Oh, but of course! Jules, how attentive of you! Actually, I’m about to pass the youth center today, that could be fun for you! I could just drop you off there, your mom could pick you up later.’  
I look up and see Sasha look right at me, trying to force eye contact. I fake a smile and hop out the van.  
‘Uh, sure, that’s fine by me.’  
I don’t really know what to say. I walk back to my mom’s car and grab the last couple of boxes and take them to Sasha’s van.

As Sasha starts the car, I look back at my mom. She waves, but I look away. I don’t like her right now. This volunteer thing is bad enough already, but having me join on the rounds? Absolute shit. She can go to hell.


	2. Chapter 2

‘This is it,’ Sasha says, ‘let’s unload the stuff.’  
I sit up straight and take a look around. We didn’t have to drive far to get here, it’s pretty close to the center of town. The building itself looks awful, it’s just a big box. ‘At least they have a place of their own,’ I think to myself, ‘I am still forced to live under my parents’ roof and listen to their shit.’  
Eventually, I get out of the car. Sasha has already gotten out and is opening the trunk. As I arrive, she hands me some of the boxes.  
‘That way, around the back. They’ll be expecting us, the door is unlocked,’ she says.  
I nod and walk the way she pointed. It’s a little windy out, but not too bad. I shiver a bit, as the change of temperature from inside the car to the outside is noticeable.

Sasha was right; the door is unlocked. I push the door wide open with my foot and step inside. I enter what looks like an empty garage. I keep walking, looking for a person to tell me what to do. Through a door I enter a large corridor, it’s bare and, plainly ugly, to be honest.

‘Ah, the deliveries! This way, please.’  
I turn around. An older woman, maybe in her mid-sixties, signals me to follow her. I do.

She leads me to what looks like a restaurant kitchen, only emptier. Some younger people seem to be waiting for the deliveries there.  
‘And who is this? You’re new?’ A man, in his forties I’d say, walks towards me. ‘Let me relieve you of those.’  
I smirk and look down shyly. ‘Yeah, uh… I’m Jules.’  
‘Well, hello Jules, welcome to the team.’ The man puts the boxes on the counter and walks back to me to shake my hand. ‘My name is David. I’ve been running the place here for a while.’ He smiles at me, even laughs a bit. ‘So, did you come with Sasha?’  
I nod.  
As I do, Sasha enters the room.  
‘Hi guys!’ The people in the room greet her back. ‘This is Jules, our new help for the next couple of weeks.’  
I try to hide the agony I’m feeling. Fuck this. Fuck all of this. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep this up.  
‘Well, that’s great,’ a younger woman exclaims. ‘I’ve been wanting a help in the recreation room, if that is what you’d like to do?’ She looks at me, waiting for a response. I don’t give her one.  
‘First, Jules will have to help me unload the rest of the boxes. Okay?’ Sasha looks at me, I don’t know what to say so I keep quiet. The woman nods, and Sasha turns around, gesturing me to follow.

‘I saw the look on your face, babe,’ I look up. ‘I know it might seem scary, but we’re all very grateful for your help.’  
I think of what to say, but decide to stay quiet.  
Sasha stops and turns around. She has a stringent look on her face. ‘Listen, you can either stay here and help with the kids your age or run more rounds with me. Those aren’t as fun.’  
I don’t say anything.  
‘I’m not stupid, Jules. I know you don’t want to be here. But we all know why you’re here.’ She walks towards me. ‘I’m trying to make it a bit more fun for you, I’m not a bad person, you know. You might even make friends.’ She smiles at me. I try and hold in my laughter but fail.  
‘Sorry but… Friends? With these crackheads? What do I look like to you? Hell no.’  
Sasha nods her head, clearly ignoring what I just said. ‘I’m going to assume your laughter is the nervous kind.’ She turns around and continues walking me to the van. ‘It’s not going to change, Jules. You’re going to have to do this, whether you want to or not. I suggest you take the easy route and just do as I say.’


	3. Chapter 3

‘Have I introduced myself yet? I don’t think I have. My name is Laura, I like to run the recreation room.’ She offers to shake my hand. ‘There isn’t much to do in here, but I believe there’s still hope.’ An optimistic smile appears on her face.

‘So, let me show you around and tell you a bit about the place, okay?’ She looks at me, I nod.  
‘Okay, so you’ll be staying here to help, how long?’  
‘A couple months, I think,’ I respond, ‘I don’t know.’  
‘Okay, cool! That’s not very long, but maybe we’ll be able to change your mind, and have you help around here for even longer. I think the folks here would really appreciate it.’ She winks at me; I politely smile back. I don’t think she understands I’m here involuntarily; if I could leave, I totally would. There’s no way I’m going to stay around to work in this shithole, let alone for free.

‘So, the people here are mostly between the ages of seventeen and twenty five. How old were you again?’  
‘Nineteen,’ I say.  
‘Okay, that’s cool! There will be quite some people here your age.’ She turns around. ‘Do you have any questions actually?’  
‘Not really,’ I murmur. ‘just tell me what I need to know, I guess.’  
‘Okay!’ Laura keeps walking, but keeps turning her head to make sure I follow. ‘What you can do today is make sure all goes well. The people here usually don’t stay for longer than a couple of days, so they’re usually very grateful and polite.’ She stops to look at me, ‘A lot more than the young adults with homes, actually.’ she winks. I know she wants me to smile, but I don’t.   
‘Anyways,’ she continues, turning around again, ‘what I would really like you to do in a bit is keep an eye on our folks and maybe just hang out with them. I think they would really appreciate some company, hear your stories. They’re lonely, you know.’ She stares in the distance, smiling sadly. She sighs. ‘I know they don’t want me to, but I feel sorry for them sometimes. No one deserves a life like they have.’ I look at her and raise my eyebrow. She tries hard to look happy. ‘But that’s why I do what I do here, try to make life a bit better for them.’  
‘I’m sure their life isn’t that bad,’ I utter, ‘I mean, they’re so young. They probably live here because they’re too lazy to look for a job or something. They spend all their money on drugs, right?’  
Laura looks at me and shakes her head in disappointment. ‘Not really, but you’ll see that for yourself.’ She walks me to the recreation room.  
‘If you have any questions, feel free to talk to me. I’m right there with you.’

I shake my head and follow her into the room.

To be honest, I am surprised to see what I do. They all look… Like me. They’re wearing secondhand clothes, that’s for sure, but I expected them to look a lot - dirtier, I guess. A guy in the corner is reading a book, another sits at a table, staring at the wall. Three others are playing a card game. A girl sits on an old couch, watching MTV on the television. There are around fifteen people in the room.   
‘It’s quiet,’ Laura says to me. ‘Some are in the bedrooms, and there might be some people roaming the halls. They love the outside too, but it’s not really nice out today. During winter, a lot more people come here, just to have a warm place to sleep. It can be very dangerous outside for them, then.’  
I look around the room. No way in hell am I going to sit, let alone interact with them.   
I lean against the wall, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the people.  
Minutes go by. Laura walks to grab a book from the bookcase and sits down on the couch, next to the girl. They start talking unintelligibly.  
One of the guys from the table walks towards me.   
‘Do you… want to join our game?’ He asks.   
I scoff. ‘No thanks.’ He looks slightly indignant and walks back to the table.

It’s been about half an hour, and I haven’t moved an inch. I’m not scared, I just feel uncomfortable. And useless. I still don’t get why I’m here.  
‘Hey, Laura? Where’s the toilet?’ She lifts her head as I walk towards her.  
‘Oh! It’s down the hall, on your right. There’s a sign, as well.’   
I nod and walk towards the door to the corridor.

The restroom is pretty large, considering. There are eight toilets.   
I look in the mirror, by the sinks. I fix my hair and look at my reflection for a second. I sigh and lean on the sink. I let my head down and close my eyes.

‘Go away,’ I hear someone say under their breath, from one of the toilets. I don’t think it’s directed at me, which is weird, considering I’m the only one here, apart from this person. Or at least, I think we are alone. I stand up straight and turn myself towards the stall, where the voice is coming from.  
‘Christ, LEAVE ME ALONE!’ I hear a bang on one of the stalls. The voice sounds afraid and angry at the same time. A chill goes down my spine.

‘A- are you okay?’ I manage to bring out.   
Silence.  
I can’t move. The tension in the room is building up.  
After a while, the stall opens. A boy, my age, walks out. He wipes his eyes as he walks past me. He looks like he’s been crying. That, or he’s high. Typical stray behavior, I think to myself.  
As he opens the door to leave the restroom, he looks back at me. We haven’t exchanged a word, but his piercing green eyes speak volumes. Our eye contact doesn’t last long, as he turns back around and slams the door. I’m left startled. 

There was something about him. I don’t know if I know him per sé, or that he reminds me of someone.   
He looked so sad. Or hopeless. I’m not sure. Whatever it was, it left me feeling the same way. 

I grab my chest. My heart is pounding. 

I look back at myself in the mirror. I turn the faucet on and let the water run for a bit. Then, I bend down and splash some water in my face. I feel streams running along my neck, into my shirt. It’s cold. It reminds me of the winter. 

My friends and I decided to try swimming in the lake, last February. It was freezing out, still. I really liked it, though. The cold water touching my warm skin while swimming felt surreal. I kept swimming when the others didn’t even dare to go in deeper than when the water touched their calves.   
It was when I got out that I started to feel this aching pain. The cold wind touching my wet, bare skin left a piercing sensation. It was like a thousand hot needles trying to find its way in me. It was something I’d never felt before. I was gasping for air and felt my soul coming apart from my body. While trying to get out of the river as fast as possible, I had tripped over my own feet. Laying on the cold, frozen embankment, I saw nothing but a black sky and heard a high pitched noise.   
I realized later that I was experiencing a panic attack.

I walk back in the recreation room. The boy isn’t there.


	4. Chapter 4

‘So, how did it go today?’  
Dad looks at me, waiting for an answer. I swallow a piece of broccoli.  
‘Fine,’ I mutter after a while, playing around with the food on my plate. ‘It’s better than having to ride through town all day, carrying the boxes and waiting in the car.’  
Mom looks up and raises her eyebrows. ‘Really?’ she says, ‘That’s good to hear.’  
‘I’m glad,’ dad adds. ‘you know we aren’t making you do this as a punishment, right? You should see it as a learning experience.’ He looks at my mom, who nods in agreement. ‘You do know that right?’   
He looks back at me, waiting for an answer.  
I nod and pick some food from my plate, avoiding eye contact.  
‘I heard Sasha took you to the youth center, what was it like there?’  
‘Most of them are older than me,’ I respond, slightly annoyed, ‘but they’re okay.’ I look up. My parents look hopeful. ‘They smell, though,’ I add. ‘It’s kind of stupid still, I don’t know.’   
Mom lowers her shoulders. The hope they both had in their eyes, it’s gone now.

‘Help do the dishes, please.’  
I run upstairs, towards my room. I turn on the television. My mom doesn’t actually expect me to help downstairs, she knows me.

I can’t help but think about what happened in the restroom. That boy… Who was he talking to? Where do I know him from? Why… Why did I feel the way I did?  
I shake my head. He’s homeless. Literally homeless. Probably filled with drugs, fucking his life up in every way possible. Ruining the beautiful spots of the town, littering parks with dirty needles and bags of shit. He probably ran away from home because he stole all his parents’ money and couldn’t face their disappointment.   
Who was he talking to, though? It was clear he wasn’t talking to me.   
But there was something else.  
I feel my cheeks flush.  
I stand up and walk towards my mirror. I look at my reflection up close and inspect my face.   
This is stupid. What is happening?  
I jump on my bed and hide under the covers. I just want this day to be over.


	5. Chapter 5

‘Wow, you look happy,’ mom says, raising her eyebrow. ‘that’s new.’  
I nod. ‘Yep. Can we go please?’  
She shakes her head and starts the car, after I fasten my seatbelt.

I woke up this morning with a surprisingly happy attitude. It’s saturday, which means I have to volunteer again. I’m not saying I like doing it, but for some reason I’m very excited for today.

‘We’re here, hun,’ mom utters. I jump up and get out of the car.  
She follows, laughing. ‘What has gotten into you today?’ she asks. Then, she grins. ‘Have you met someone in here?’  
She gasps, teasingly. I roll my eyes back and sigh. Then, I turn around. I don’t say anything, walking away. ‘Who is it?’ She follows me.  
‘No one, mom,’ I growl. ‘I’m just trying to make it a bit more fun for myself here.’  
She is taken aback from my statement. ‘Oh,’ she responds. Then, she lights up again. ‘Well, I’m glad. It’s good to see a smile on your face, babe.’  
I quickly look back at her and then shake my head.  
‘Kay mom,’ I add, ‘See you later.’  
I walk towards the entrance of the center, leaving my mom standing there. She doesn’t follow me.

‘Hi, Jules, good to see you again!’ I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see David.  
‘Laura is sick today, so you’re gonna have to take a little more on your plate than last week,’ David sighs and looks up to me. ‘if you still want to run the recreation room, that is.’ He winks.  
‘Sure,’ I respond, looking down, ‘I mean, what else would I do?’  
‘Great!’ he exclaims, ‘Then that’s settled.’

I know the way.  
It’s quiet in the room. It’s a little earlier in the morning, maybe most are still asleep, or something. I throw myself on the couch and lift my legs, so I almost lay down. I throw my head back and close my eyes.

I think I fell asleep, because as soon as I open my eyes there seem to be more strays - uh, people - than before. I get up and look around.  
You know, volunteering here isn’t all that bad. The fact that I can just nap while ‘learning my lesson’ is great. As long as the homeless don’t touch me, it’s okay.

I get up to go to the bathroom, I’m sure they’re fine on their own for a bit.  
As I walk out, I notice a door at the other side of the hallway. I look into the recreation room. They won’t miss me for a couple more minutes, I think to myself. 

Time to explore.


	6. Chapter 6

I open the door. It’s a storage room.  
Anyways, I walk in. It’s large enough to be a bedroom. To my left, there are a bunch of boxes, stacked against the wall. On the right side of the room, there is a large rack. It’s pushed away from the wall though. I walk around it to check out behind it.  
There’s an old pillow. Nothing more, it seems like. I’m assuming someone usually hangs out here. I sit down on the pillow, and hear what sounds like rustling from behind my back. I turn my head and reach behind me to see what it was that made the noise. I feel a plastic bag. I grab it and lift it up to bring it to my lap. There is no need to open the bag to inspect further, because it’s more than clear what this bag contains; drugs.  
I recognize what looks like a joint, and smaller bags containing pills, I’m guessing molly or barbiturates. I drop the bag in shock. What the fuck is this? Who’s taking this? Who in here is stupid enough to even fuck up their lives further in here? This facility is a godsent for all of the strays, and one of them decides to just take that for granted? I feel myself getting angry. Fucking strays. I knew they were no good. They are stuck-up, lazy, rude, disgusting motherfu-  
The door slowly opens. It creaks. I hear footsteps. I don’t, I can’t move. I am still angry, but now also scared.

I see a face coming from around the rack. I recognize the face.   
It’s the boy from last week.  
My heart starts pounding. I try to quickly get up, but somehow I can’t.

‘Huh,’ the boy shrugs. ‘I didn’t expect to see anyone here.’  
Silence. I’m pretty sure I look really pissed.  
He sees the bag in front of me. I see the fear in his eyes, but he manages to suppress it.  
‘Uh, you gonna tell anyone?’  
I look up to him. My facial expression quickly changes, as the boy shuffles away from the rack to right in front of me.   
Seconds pass. I take my time looking at him.  
‘N- No, don’t worry,’ I manage to bring out, after a while. My anger is gone all of a sudden, somehow. Now, I just feel ashamed, which makes me feel vulnerable.  
The boy sighs, smiles, even. ‘Nice.’ He sits down in front of me, which scares me a bit.   
He holds out his hand, I give him the bag. ‘Did you take the other bag?’ I shake my head.   
He looks me straight in the eyes. I feel a chill going down my spine. His eyes are mesmerizing. Before I know it, his face is not more than an inch removed from mine. I’m confused. But, he pulls back. He has another bag in his hand now. He must have grabbed it from behind me. He opens it and pulls out a small sachet with some blue powder, it looks a little like pop rocks. He opens his mouth and throws the contents down his throat. I look at him, baffled by what I’m witnessing.  
‘Ahh,’ the boy moans. He throws his head back and moves his shoulders up and down.

‘Wh- what’s your name?’ I ask, after looking at him in awe. I feel my cheeks flushing immediately.  
The boy looks around, I’m assuming looking for something to eat. Instead, he brings his hands to his mouth and starts chewing on his nails.  
‘Klaus,’ he answers, ‘number four!’ He almost whispered, in a weird, comedic voice. I raise my brow. I am still shaking, my emotions are all over the place for some reason.   
He looks back at me. ‘and yours?’   
My eyes widen. ‘Uh… Jules. My name’s Jules.’  
He looks me up and down. ‘Jules. You don’t look like a Jules. More like a- I don’t know.’ He keeps moving his eyes, it’s a little weird actually, maybe even concerning. ‘You’re not a Jules, that’s for sure.’  
I raise my shoulders. ‘It is my name, though.’ I laugh, awkwardly.  
He smirks and moves his body in a different position. He is lean, definitely not ‘crackhead-skinny’. He actually looks really good, to be honest. Not like a homeless person at all. In fact, you can’t even really see he’s an addict. Maybe he actually doesn’t do drugs, I think to myself. Maybe all this stuff isn’t his. I shake my head. It most likely is.  
Then, I feel his hand touch my leg. I don’t know why, but it triggered me. I look up, my eyes wide open.   
‘Did you want any? I usually don’t share, but since you aren’t going to rat me out…’ He winks. I hold in my giggle. Should I…?

I shake my head. ‘No, I don’t do drugs.’   
He smiles and looks away. ‘Good for you. You know, once you start, you don’t really ever stop. Not that I’d want to stop,’ he raises his eyebrows and laughs. ‘This shit is simply too good. And, it does the job perfectly.’   
I don’t know what that means, but I nod in agreement, anyway.  
It’s silent for a while after that. Klaus is biting his nails and looks around the room. Then, he picks up the bags and comes close to me again, to put the bags back where he hid them before. I feel his breath stroking my neck, as I pray this moment never stops. I don’t move.  
The bags are back in their place, so Klaus stands up and stretches. I look at his sagittal hair and belly button, as his shirt is cropped and his pants fall a little lower on his hips. I don’t think he notices.  
‘I’m gonna go,’ he yawns.   
As I try to stand up and follow him, he stops me.   
‘You should probably stay here for a bit, in case the others think we, uh, did something else.’ He winks at me. I blush. ‘Not saying I wouldn’t, but, y’know.’   
He walks out, leaving me flabbergasted. 

I stay seated for a couple more minutes before heading out.


End file.
